Science Geek Gifts for All

If you have a difficult-to-buy for Ph.D. or science club president (nerd alert!) on your gift list this holiday season, don't settle for socks or underwear because you figure everyone needs them. Sure we do, but they rank about a one out of 10 on the fun-to-get-as-a-present-o-meter.

Wired News surveyed scientists around the country to find out what was on their wish lists. Francis Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, wants a machine that can decode the human genome for $1,000. While we wait for someone to invent that übertool, check out the Wired News science geek gift guide for presents that will show your nerdy friends and relatives you understand the things their superior brains like. You'll find mind-expanding gift ideas for everyone on your list, from AP chemistry students to zebra-fish genome researchers.

Blokus — Science geeks love games, but the diversions must challenge the brain more than, say, Chutes and Ladders. Blokus ($30) is a favorite at the Exploratorium Store (which has lots more science-y gift ideas). They say the game develops logic and spatial perception. Plus, Blokus was game of the year in Europe in 2002.

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Digital Blue Zoomshot — This binoculars/digital-camera combo magnifies images 10 times through the binoculars, then captures digital snapshots with one click. It can hold up to 100 images, which you can download and edit with the included software. Digital Blue says it's adult- and kid-friendly (ages 7 and up). You can buy it ($60) at Digital Blue's website or at major toy and electronics retail chains. Also check out the company's Digital Movie Creator and QX5 microscope.

PDA — Our Ph.D. sources tell us their days of vitamin E deficiency are over. Now more than ever, researchers want to share their discoveries at conferences around the world, so they need mobile data. Scientists are also increasingly collaborating with other labs, since the mixing and melding of various disciplines is becoming commonplace. They'll love an all-in-one gadget: Try BlackBerry's new, sleek 7100t design ($300).

Cook's Illustrated — This magazine not only has consistently gorgeous cover art, it will also appeal to the inner geek in any food enthusiast. Buy a subscription ($25 for the first gift subscription, and $20 for more) for delish recipes and the latest in cooking gadgetry. The mag even has a web page devoted to food science.

Books — On Intelligence, by PalmPilot inventor Jeff Hawkins, is often singled out as a great book on how the mind works by brainiacs themselves — and you don't have to be one to read it. The Third Man of the Double Helix is an autobiography by Maurice Wilkins, who played a big role in the discovery of the structure of DNA but remains lesser-known than his colleagues Crick and Watson. Deep Down Things: The Breathtaking Beauty of Particle Physics, by Bruce Schumm, is for the physics-curious. A Field Guide to Bacteria, by Betsey Dexter Dyer, is more "bacteria can be fun" than "bacteria can kill you." Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie, by Barbara Goldsmith, draws on sealed papers and family interviews. Look for a New York Times review Sunday.

Babylonian medical tablet — Biology types and medical professionals in particular have this ancient prescription gypsum replica on their lists. The circa-650 B.C. tablet was discovered in Nipput, Iraq, and your uncle the pediatrician can proudly display his own version thanks to your thoughtful gift. It's $42 at the University of Pennsylvania museum shop, and features a prescription that calls for 17 plants to treat loss of speech or shortness of breath.

Storm Hawk — Florida residents, seafarers or the environmentally obsessed will love this handheld GPS storm tracker. The screen rotates with the direction of travel so you can see what you are driving, boating or flying into. WeatherData sells Storm Hawk on the i-mate PDA. The package includes GPS, a cell phone and all the other i-mate features for $1,495, plus $10 a month for meteorological data stream and software updates, plus $30 a month for T-Mobile service.

Mug — If you were thinking of spending a little less, you can find mugs with just about anything on them, including the periodic table of the elements, the chemical structure of the caffeine molecule and the structure of DNA, which features the catchy phrase, "Microbiologists have great DNA."

Meteorite pendant — Be nerdy and romantic, too, by giving your special lady this meteorite chunk surrounded by sterling silver. You can tell her all about how it's an L-5-type chondrite while she swoons ($65).

Zero-G flight — The Federal Aviation Administration gave the Zero Gravity Corporation permission this year to give you and me an experience only someone like Buzz Aldrin could previously realize. "The flights (which carry a weighty $2,950 price tag) create microgravity environments by swooping along a trajectory that looks like the biggest roller coaster in the galaxy," according to Wired News reporter Xeni Jardin, who took a zero-gravity flight in September. Even the person who has everything likely hasn't experienced weightlessness.

For Kids

Oobleck — You loved Slime as a kid. It was ooey, gooey, green and it smelled deliciously toxic. Did you ever dare consider the potential delight in making your own? Well, now you can. Now you can get Oobleck ($20) so your kids can make custom slime, with extras including sparkles and plastic ants. The folks at Great Explorations in Math and Science in the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California at Berkeley dreamt up Oobleck, along with other satisfyingly messy science kits for kids.

Star Theater 2 — The Maryland Science Center tipped us off to this device that can turn a dark bedroom into a starry, starry night ($30). MSC also recommends astronaut food, so your kids can taste the ambrosia of space explorers. Who knew you could freeze-dry ice cream sandwiches ($3)?

Hand Boiler — As a kid, our entertainment industry reporter Katie Dean got hours of entertainment out of her hand boiler, and she didn't even know it was an excellent demonstration of energy transfer! It's a nifty stocking stuffer at only $5 at Edmund Scientific, which is the daddy of all science gift sites (also find everyone's favorite, the thermodynamic drinking bird, there).

Herd Your Horses — We all know that little girls, particularly the slightly nerdy ones (the label will be a badge of honor later in life), love horses. Why that is remains a mystery, but why not indulge their obsession and exercise their brain cells too? The Society of Women Engineers recommends Herd Your Horses ($18) for teaching how horses survive in the wild and how to identify horses by breed, color and markings.

Make Your Own Lip Balm and perfume kits — The Society of Women Engineers also endorses learning a thing or two about what goes into beauty products, rather than mindlessly slathering them on. Try the lip balm kit ($15) or Perfume Science: The Art and Science of Making Scents ($50).

Smithsonian Crime Lab Investigation set — Help your tykes create their own CSI (more G-rated, we hope) at home with this kit, which includes a 300x microscope, three eyepieces with 100x, 200x and 300x magnifications, and plastic microscope slides and covers ($50).

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